Bus riders slow to return to Sun Tran after strike

Nearly one in four riders haven’t returned to Tucson’s bus system after a six-week strike disrupted service this summer.

Bus service has been running normally for about three weeks since the strike ended, but ridership hasn’t returned to normal, city transit administrator Jeremy Papuga said at a Tucson Transit Task Force meeting Monday.

About 51,000 people are riding Sun Tran buses now, compared to about 66,000 people before the strike, Sun Tran General Manager Kate Riley told the task force.

Transit Task Force member Sami Hamed said it’s going to take time for riders to feel confident in the system again. He encouraged all of the parties in the strike to “stop the blame game.”

Papuga said he isn’t sure yet what this will mean for the city transit program’s already tight budget, but he is expecting a “significant reduction” in revenue as a result of the strike.

In fiscal year 2014, about 20 percent of the city’s $58   million operating budget for Sun Tran came from riders’ fares.

Proposed bus-service changes meant to take effect in February to save money have been put on hold, Papuga said.

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The Tucson City Council is scheduled to discuss next steps for the transit system, including a possible performance audit or a new management model.

In a 3-2 vote, the Transit Task Force decided to send seven recommendations to the council. Among them: Don’t change governance of the system and don’t make quick decisions on fares and routes.

“You’ve got to let the system get through the effects of the strike before you make changes to it,” said Transit Task Force chairman Gene Caywood.

Previously, the Tucson Bus Riders Union made five recommendations, including no fare increases, no route cuts, and no turning the bus system over to the Regional Transportation Authority.

Declining ridership on top of other budget problems and “the fact that we gave the (strike) savings to the Teamsters as part of the settlement is going to be a challenge for us in the next budget cycle,” said City Council Member Steve Kozachik.

He said the council made mistakes over the past few years when it didn’t act on proposed route efficiencies and didn’t change fares, and now the council should partner with the Pima Association of Governments on a regional management structure for the bus system.